The City Council approved a resolution Monday calling on state legislators to create a commission to conduct a cost benefit analysis of State Department of Education mandates with the objective of removing unbeneficial and unfunded mandates.

Ward 1 Councilman William Foley, who has worked in education for the past 40 years, introduced the measure that was met with overwhelming approval from his colleagues and members of the audience, including Warwick School Committee member Shaun Galligan.

“Not often enough does the search light shine of RIDE to see what it’s doing,” said Foley. He feels legislators should look at RIDE policies “and what they are trying to do.”

 The only issue raised was over the wording calling for elimination of programs that aren’t of benefit.

“What metric will be used to determine if there is no benefit,” questioned Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur.  He read an email from Jeremy Langill who also addressed council members.

“As it stands, at least as I read this, we are asking elected politicians, many of whom are not subject experts or who have little administrative experience in the educational field, to apply a “cost benefit analysis” when considering what is or is not “beneficial”. Is the cost benefit analysis being applied to the fact that the mandates are unfunded or is the cost benefit analysis being applied to what is “beneficial?,” Langill wrote.

While that can be left to interpretation, it didn’t trouble Council President Steve McAllister.

“I think you do the study and don’t get bogged down in the language,” he said.

Foley has had first hand experience in dealing with legislated mandates. He is also familiar with mandates that don’t provide funding to the school departments called upon to implement them.

The resolution reads that the state education aid entitlements to the City of Warwick contributed less than 25 percent  of the funding required for the City’s $174 million FY2022 school budget.

Ward 3 Councilman Tim Howe, who is an educator, said the removal of non beneficial mandates could save millions for the city.

“The biggest frustration is the unfunded mandates’,” he said.  He projected 40 percent of the school budget pays for unfunded mandates.

Ward 8 Councilman Anthony Sinapi harkened back to the days after toll Gate High School opened and how its programs were sought after. Today, he said “a good chunk of it (mandates) is RIDE.” He would like to see the school return to what it was.

Jeremy Rix, Ward 2, cautioned that state funding can be a “double edged sword” as municipalities lose control. He felt for a study to be meaningful it has to be consistent across the state.

Galligan thought an analysis could help the city optimize the state funding it receives. He suggested that the resolution also request that an educator serve on the commission charged with conducting the study.

Should the mayor sign the resolution, it is requested that copies be sent to State Representatives and Senators representing Warwick.